Stony Hill Four Corners Summer Festival Offering More Family

The many merchants and organizers of the free 2010 Stony Hill Four Corners Summer Festival are counting on their third such event to be the best ever.

Now that the reach of this proactive business association has extended further into Newtown to accommodate numerous businesses in Hawleyville Center, the event organizers have also expanded the scope of the Summer Festival to a second day of special activities that will center around that growing western Newtown village district.

“In just the past five to ten years, the number of businesses that have sprung up between the Four Corners and Hawleyville has increased by around 40 percent,” pointed out Dennis Janofsky of Quality Gem.

“And all the businesses seem to be thriving,” added Madeline Bunt, of the Stony Hill Union Savings Bank branch. “Our goal is really to erase the borders between Newtown and Bethel and to showcase all that we have going on.”

Referring to the expanding Stony Hill Four Corners district as “the golden mile,” Ms Bunt added, “What isn’t here to have!”

The first day of festivities June 12 will center around the Fairfield County Extension Center in Stony Hill where about two dozen participating Stony Hill businesses will have tabletop displays and interactive activities for participants of all ages. Quality Gem and Union Savings Bank are also sponsoring the third annual AMBER Alert registration from 10 am to 3 pm.

While organizers hope to draw many first-timers to the public service initiative, they stress that children who are already registered need to have information updated as they grow older to maximize the benefit if it is ever activated on their behalf.

The AMBER Alert Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.

Once law enforcement determines that a child has been abducted and the abduction meets AMBER Alert criteria, law enforcement issues an AMBER Alert and notifies broadcasters and state transportation officials. AMBER Alerts interrupt regular programming and are broadcast on radio and television and on highway signs. AMBER Alerts can also be issued on lottery tickets, wireless devices such as mobile phones, and over the Internet.

“So far, our events alone have registered 600 children into the Amber Alert system,” Ms Bunt said.

Loads Of Activities

Activities at the Extension Center will also include a bouncy castle, free shoe shines, DJ music, face painting, raffles and, while supplies last, free goodie bags assembled by the staff of Klickers Hair Studio. Raffle proceeds will be donated to the Newtown Relay For Life.

The second day of the Summer Festival, June 13, from noon to 4 pm, will shift attention toward Hawleyville as the Santosha Center at 27 Hawleyville Road hosts a Family Fun Day presented by the Danbury office of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF).

Families coming out will be treated to free refreshments, food, ice cream, games, raffles, face painting, a demonstration by Newtown K-9 Baro, bouncy Inflatables, live and DJ music, a petting zoo and an autograph session with the Danbury Westerners minor league baseball team.

Co-organizer and DCF representative Yvette Newton said it will be an opportunity for visitors to learn about making the ultimate difference in the life of a child awaiting adoption of long-term foster placement.

“In 2009 we were able to facilitate 14 adoptions and dozens of foster placements,” Ms Newton said. “But we have hundreds of other children waiting for that forever home opportunity.

Ms Newtown said she has a particular need for foster homes for infants, teens, and medically compromised children who may have issues ranging from asthma to autism spectrum. She and her staff will be on hand to provide information and help orient possible foster and adoptive parents to the requirements and benefits of opening their homes to a child in need.

“People are often surprised to learn our adoption services come with no fees,” Ms Newtown said. “DCF provides all screening, required courses for foster parents, ongoing support groups and each family has an assigned one-on-one agency representative to help them whenever the need arises.”

Comprehensive Support Services

Those who extend themselves to medically compromised children receive an additional 15 hours of supervised training, and all qualifying placements provide a monthly stipend, access to state-sponsored health care through the HUSKY program, no-fee legal support for open adoptions, even social services support and college tuition.

“And our children are welcome additions to all homes, including single-parent homes, divorced individuals, same-sex couples, and older individuals in good health,” she said. “There is really no age cutoff for foster and adoptive parents — good health is the key.”

As Ms Bunt pointed out in the past, the successful proliferation of the many businesses and services in the Stony Hill Four Corners area are testimony to the fact that many people start shopping locally to save time and gas.

“And they are realizing the abundance of stores and services that are available in their own backyard,” she said. “The Stony Hill District on Route 6 is easy to find between Exits 9 and 8 off I-84, offering consumers and visitors from throughout the region value and convenience.

“That is important to today’s shoppers, and the business owners know that,” Ms Bunt added. “I am proud to say Union Savings Bank has been instrumental in supporting the Stony Hill District Community. With the new additions of Target, The Big Y World Class Market, and Starbucks and several restaurants Route 6 has really grown and continues to grow.”

Add to that the new businesses including Papa Al’s Pizza, Hawleyville Wine & Liquor, a new post office and other new businesses in Hawleyville Center, and residents have even more reason to explore all there is to offer.

Lisa Whitmore of UK Gourmet attributes her continuing success, in part, to the association’s shared marketing and outreach.

“We can make a bigger impact as a group. I know that we can make a difference together in getting the word out and putting together great events like our up-coming Summer Festival,” she said. “We are erasing the town border and working together.”

For more information about the association, its upcoming activities and all there is to offer in “the golden mile,” visit www.StonyHillFourCorners.com.

“Our annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony collects food for the Bethel and Newtown food banks, and our Halloween Pancake Breakfast supports the Stony Hill Ambulance Fund,” Ms Bunt said.

Businesses interested in learning more can contact Ms Whitmore at StonyHillFourCorners@gmail.com or call 203-426-9666.